At the start of her senior year in a new school, Bella is assigned a project with a partner who has a harrowing tale to tell. She soon learns that the kind boy she’s working with hides a broken spirit behind a smile that convinces everyone but her. With him, she will discover how to love through adversity; with her, he will uncover a passion to live and love without bounds. AH, OOC

Just when I think high school fics have been done to death, someone (or two) comes along and proves me soooo wrong!

“For each quarter of the year, you will be doing a project with a classmate or group of classmates. Today, I would like for you to go ahead and pair up with someone around you. Projects will formally begin next Monday, but this way you can go ahead and get acquainted with your partner.”

I wished Angela and I had been sitting closer, but she immediately turned around to ask the guy behind her to be her partner. I couldn’t remember, but I thought that was Ben, one of the guys from lunch that was in the band. Angela looked like an actual heart-eye emoji when she turned to look at him, and I sighed, knowing she’d had never picked me over her apparent crush.

I leaned forward, ready to tap the girl in front of me on the shoulder, but she turned to her right and asked the girl beside her.

I looked around, but quickly, all these kids who’d known each other for years were pairing off, and I was the new girl, the faceless among friends.

Finally, I heard a throat clear behind me and I turned to the boy.

“Would you like to be my partner?” He asked, not shyly but almost hesitantly, like he was used to hearing “no.” Like there was a reason I’d be put off by his asking.

“Yes, please. Thank you,” I answered, and his shoulders visibly relaxed. “I’m Bella,” I said, and like a dork, I held out my hand to him.

“Edward,” he replied and took my hand. He was wearing a fingerless glove on his hand like he was about to go lift weights. I thought it odd but didn’t mention it. His handshake wasn’t at all firm like I anticipated when I saw the well formed muscles of his arms under his t-shirt.

“So, are you new to Forks?” He asked politely, and I was happy that he was making conversation rather than just sitting quietly, awkwardly.

“Is it that obvious?” I asked with a chuckle. “Odd one out over here,” I said, pointing to myself dramatically.

“I know the feeling,” he said with a grimace.

“Were you once the new kid, too?” I asked, hopeful that I wasn’t the first intruder this tiny town had ever seen.

“No. . . ” he trailed off. His eyes, light greenish blue, looked incredibly sad in that moment. But he forced a smile on his face, and I noticed how handsome he was. His hair was brown with a tinge of red, cut close at the sides and gelled over neatly on top. His complexion was fair and smooth.

“Alright class,” Ms. Moore started. “You will get the full instructions for this project next Monday, but for now, go ahead and exchange emails, numbers, add each other on Facebook, whatever it is you need to be able to contact your partner and stay abreast of the project,” she said. If she heard one of the guys in the back chuckle at ‘abreast’, she ignored it.

“So, Bella, can I have your number?” Edward asked when I turned back to him. He winked and I laughed. His eyes and smile were brighter, more genuine.

I rattled off my cellphone number for him and plugged his into my phone.

“The bell will be ringing soon, folks. Go ahead and pack your belongings,” Ms. Moore said. The classroom was loud with chatter as we all shuffled our things back into our bags.

I stood when the bell rang, turning back to Edward to bid him goodbye.

“Have a good rest of the day, Bella. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Edward smiled.

“Bye, Edward. . . ” I trailed off, and suddenly, as he moved to leave the classroom and towards the second door at the back of the room, things started to make sense. Why there were ramps in all of the areas where there were also stairs, why there was an actual car parked in the one handicapped space at the front of the student parking lot, why Edward was wearing gloves on his hands.

Everything about this fic draws me in…a wounded Edward…a sweet but snarky (when she needs to be) Bella…a Charlie to admire and a gaggle of colorful new friends!

My new girl status didn’t bring much unwanted notoriety after the first day. The new friends I’d made, especially Jessica and Angela, had been welcome. Both were exceptionally kind. Even Lauren, who was very quiet and bookish, had started making conversation with me at lunch the day before.

Tyler and Mike were best friends who reminded me of Zac Efron and Corbin Bleu in High School Musical. I was just waiting for them to tell me to get my head in the game. They were both on the football team, too.

Ben, who sat across from Angela (and gave her the same adoring looks she gave him), was hilarious. He was a big reader and movie watcher, and his jokes kept us all in stitches most days. He could quote every funny movie and all the best Michael Scott quotes.

Then there was Eric, who made no secret about his crush on Emmett. His makeup was always flawless, and he did a contour better than a lot of YouTube beauty bloggers.

Their presence has been constant in the week since that horrible day that I lost my father. But then, they’ve always been around. I remember meeting them when I was quite little; playing with their two youngest sons, Emmett and Edward, while the adults ‘took care of business,’ as Charlie used to say. As I got older, heard more rumors, I knew that his quiet meetings with the Cullens meant he was involved in something bigger. But, I always felt safe, protected, when I was around them.

Letting my mind drift, I look around at the small crowd gathered.

I see a few familiar faces, a few that aren’t. Seated just past Esme, is Emmett then Edward, their youngest sons. They’re only a few years older than I am; Emmett at nineteen, and Edward, who just this month turned twenty-two. Em’s usual dimpled smile has been replaced with a somber expression today. Though, when I catch his eye, the twinkle that’s always present is still there. Edward’s sharp features have always been tempered with the softness in his eyes. I always thought he was a serious kid, but I think he’s turned into an even more serious man. But, he was always kind, patient, even though he was a little more than five years older than me. And he loved Charlie; they both did. I remember the many times the two youngest Cullen boys would welcome their ‘Uncle Charlie’ with open arms.

Edward’s been away at school the last few years, and just finished his classes, so I haven’t seen him in a while. Emmett’s been gone this last year too, having just finished his first year. Apparently, Carlisle made the call to bring them both home for Charlie’s funeral.

“Let us not forget, that The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

The priest’s loud words startle me back to attention, but it doesn’t last long. On the other side of Carlisle is Jasper, who’s the oldest Cullen son at twenty-six. With his lighter hair and sharp blue eyes, he resembles his father while his brothers take after Esme with their dark hair and green eyes. They’re all strikingly handsome, and under other circumstances, my attention would be drawn to them.

“Bella, a leanbh, do you want to go up and say anything to your father?” Esme’s soft voice brings me from my near-numb state.

I just shake my head, fearing that if I speak, I’ll again start crying.

I know no one here would judge me, but I feel like I’ve cried enough.

Esme pats my hand. “Okay, a stóir. If you change your mind, you still have time.” She kisses the side of my head. “Carlisle and I will be up there if you need us.” Turning to her side, she looks at her younger sons. “Emmett, Edward? Could you boys please sit with Bella for a few moments?”

“Yeah, Ma.”

“Of course, Ma.”

Carlisle and Esme’s vacant seats are quickly filled with Edward and Emmett. Their broad shoulders and imposing forms make me feel safe; protected from even the light wind swirling around us.

“Shh, I’ve got you, álainn. Things will be all right.” Edward’s arm wraps around my shoulders, bringing me to his chest, holding me together. “Your Da was a good man, Bella. And now he’s up there watching over you. You’ve got your very own guardian angel.”

Though meant to comfort me, his words just bring on more tears.

Em reaches over for my hand, offering his own support. Knowing that the whole Cullen family is here for me, supporting me, gives me hope that the days ahead might be brighter.

After losin’ her father, sixteen-year-old Bella Swan goes to live with the Cullens where, seein’ as who they are, you’d expect her to be safe!

“Bella,” I whisper, seeing if I can rouse her from sleep. When she doesn’t respond, I decide to settle into the chair in the corner of the room, just to keep an eye on her. I know it’ll more than likely be hours until she comes around, but I don’t want her to wake up alone.

Memories of all of us sharing family dinners with Uncle Charlie and Bella come back to me. Those were happier times. Back when we were still innocent to most of the evil things in this world. Yes, there was business to conduct, but they were like family to us; distant family that only came around a few times a year, but family nonetheless. He trusted us with his precious daughter, and we’ve failed to protect her. But, who would’ve predicted we had to defend her from the evils of one of our own?

So many great stories came out of the We Love Mobward Contest and Duplicity is among the ones that will completely blow you away!

Some secrets will damage your reputation. Others will ruin your social life. But then there are secrets that will change the way the world looks at you, now and forever. What would Edward be willing to do to keep such a secret? And who will pay the price?

Remember back up top when I said someone (or two) comes along and proves me wrong about high school fics? Yeah, this one, too!

The back of the room gives me the perfect vantage point to observe, so I start cataloging what I see. All the groups are here: the nerdy boys with their not quite styled hair and thick-rimmed glasses, the rockers in their ripped jeans and Stones t-shirts, the druggies . . . well, you just know who they are by that vacant look in their eyes . . . is that girl with the spiky black hair a goth? I scan the room again. But where are—

My thoughts are interrupted by the loud arrival of the group I was looking for. Three guys in letterman jackets strut through the door like they own the place, followed by three tittering bimbos. Now, now, Bella, just because they’re showing boob-crack and sound like dying hyenas does not mean they’re stupid, I remind myself. You’re going to try to befriend these girls. You have to—it’s the only way to avoid becoming what you were before. But, Jesus, don’t Henleys have buttons for a reason?

I shake my head and focus on the guys instead—I usually can relate to them better anyway. Two blonds . . . nice! The one with the curly hair isn’t bad, and that one with the blue eyes is cute, but . . . he kind of looks . . . plastic—like a Ken doll.

And then it happens. A god walks into our midst, and I seem to be the only one to notice. Time stops and as a ray of heavenly light falls on his copper hair, I swear I hear angels singing . . . or is that just the druggies listening to some rave music? Who the fuck cares? Right now, all I can see are deep green eyes and wild sex hair, and my God, just looking at his jaw makes my throat dry. Is that because I’m drooling and any remaining moisture in my body has gone south for the duration?

He’s . . . gorgeous. It’s the only word in my brain, and the only one likely to be there when I look at him. Unless, of course, it’s chest hair or stubble or naked—Jesus! There we go! The image of naked Jesus snaps my mind back from my porno fantasy and into the present, just as Gorgeous drops his books onto the desk two in front of me and—shit! Eye contact! Those incredible eyes force mine down to my notebook because I’m not able to take in the full blast of his beauty. To him, I probably look shy but, in reality, I’ve lowered my eyes in reverence. Um . . . reverence? Exactly when did I start worshipping creatures who think spitballs should be an Olympic sport? What the hell happened to me in the last five minutes?

I give myself a good shake as Gorgeous turns toward one of the bimbos and hits her with said Olympic projectile. She’s pissed, but the smile he flashes almost makes me swallow my tongue. How can she stand to be that close to him without just licking his jaw? Argh, come back, naked Jesus! I need to stop lusting over what undoubtedly has to be some other girl’s man meat.

As Mr. Varner calls the class to order, Gorgeous turns to the front, and sanity douses me like a bucket of cold water. Wow. I can’t let that shit happen again. Obviously not getting past first base, and even that over a year ago, has caused some kind of chemical imbalance in my brain. I’ll have to be careful when I’m around Gorgeous lest I slip back into horndog Bella mode. I have more important things to do today.

Bella’s irreverence and complete lack of filter cracks me the fuck up ROTFLMAO! Edward, on the other hand, well…gorgeous is as gorgeous does, right?

I slam my locker door but nearly jump into the next county as I spy Gorgeous tossing his books into his own locker three down from mine.

He closes the door, and I know the instant he feels my open-mouthed stare. He rivets me to the floor with those vibrant green eyes of his. Is he really about to speak to me? Could this day actually turn out okay? He looks surprised and almost panicked for a second, but then two other junior boys walk by, one of them bumping his shoulder. His lips part, but his smile isn’t angelic, it’s leering and wicked.

“So, you struck out today, eh, Bowling Girl? Maybe tomorrow you’ll figure out where you belong—the losers aren’t hard to spot around here.”

The eavesdropping boys chuckle and Gorgeous laughs—his voice is even more fluid and velvet than I’d imagined, but the sound and the words are so hateful that, for a moment, it doesn’t compute and I just let him saunter away as I gaze after him, my jaw still on the floor.

Fuck my life. Gorgeous is an asshole, too.

Ah, well! Edward’s assholishness is a cover up…or is it!? Read and decide for yourself!

He’s the guy she’s always wanted. She’s the girl he shouldn’t want. Bro code says you don’t go for your friends’ ex-girlfriends. It also says you don’t go for their sisters. What happens when you breach the bro code? AH

Another Saturday morning, another headache, and a one night stand I already regret. It’s not a regular thing for me, but the walk of shame is real. I swear everyone around me can see it, even though as a guy, it’s not nearly as obvious. There’s no smeared makeup, and if my clothes are wrinkled and my hair is a mess, well, that’s easily ignored. Lots of guys are generally disheveled much of the time.

I don’t know why I do these things, but my best guess is it’s out of boredom. A shitty excuse, but it’s all I’ve got. What else is there to do when one is single, relatively young, and in possession of a rather large disposable income? I don’t have a lot of free time, and I’d never see the light of day if I stayed in my apartment all the time. The hospital is like a tomb lit with fluorescent lights, and I’m itching for fresh air, sunshine, and freedom at the end of every shift.

My mother tells me I need a girlfriend. Someone to come home to, a sympathetic ear and a pair of caring arms. Yeah, my mom is a sappy as it gets, but she’s a smart woman. The trouble is, as much as I like the idea of someone steady in my life, it seems women only want me for my money, or the possibility of becoming a doctor’s wife.

So here I am, bored to death, hungover, and alone. Trying not to die while I get my five miles in, and praying I can leave last night’s mistakes in the dust. Other runners cross me on the trail, casting looks of sympathy at my flagging pace. I’m sure I look like death: pale and clammy, dark circles under my eyes like bruises. At least, that’s what I looked like in the mirror this morning before I laced up my running shoes.

I don’t realize my phone is ringing at first; it blends in with the repetitive EDM pulsing through my earbuds, matching the pounding hammer in my skull. Catching the call a few rings in, I lurch to a stop at the side of the trail to answer, eternally grateful for the excuse to take a breather. Now, if I can keep myself from puking, I’ll count myself lucky.

“’Lo?” I try not to huff into the mic, but the hangover isn’t helping and I can’t freaking breathe. I’m bent over at the waist as I try not to suffocate.

“Edward?” a small, female voice asks through the crackle of an unsteady connection.

“Yeah… who’s this?” Shit. Did I give my number to that girl last night? Stranger things have happened, and while I was hammered, I don’t think I was that hammered. She should have taken the hint when I pulled the disappearing act, but I’ve known a couple girls who were on the desperate side, showing up at my favorite bar and trying to bring me shit at the hospital.

God, I’m such a fucking tool.

“Hello? Edward? It’s Bella.”

“Bella?” My shoulders sag in relief. At least I won’t have to start screening my calls—yet. Her voice is a welcome one, and I smile in spite of my impending death.

“It’s Emmett’s sister, you moron.” She sounds a little miffed, like she thinks I can’t remember her. I can almost hear her rolling her eyes.

I smirk, my mood brightening, and I wonder if the Advil is finally kicking in. It’s good to hear Bella’s voice; it’s been too long. Her face flashes through my mind—large, sable eyes and dark, shiny hair. My mind also supplies visions of soft-looking, shiny lips, sweet, perky tits; a phenomenal ass, and great legs; thoughts which I try valiantly to ignore. My best friend would rip my balls off if he knew I ever thought of his baby sister in any way that wasn’t saintly. But I do. Frequently.

Oh, wait…”mature” might be stretchin’ it just a bit *wink!*

“I know who you are, Bella,” I laugh. “I’m just surprised to hear from you. What’s up?”

I haven’t seen Bella since Christmas. She’s busy with graduate school, and I’m working long shifts at the hospital and/or constantly on call. Between attending surgeries and administering the good drugs, anesthesiologists rarely get a break. We’re in high demand due to a nationwide shortage, which means I’m every surgeon’s bitch. I straighten to my full height and wipe sweat from my brow with the hem of my jacket as I wait for her response. I catch a whiff of whiskey and my stomach threatens to revolt again. That’s right—I’m sweating buckets in March. Fucking hangover.

“I sort of need a favor. I need—” she begins, but then she’s cut off by the clash of loud noises over the line.

Is that yelling? Some sort of metal slamming around? It sounds like giant robots in a boxing match. Where the hell is she?

I make my mind stop wandering and concentrate on helping Bella. “Sure, anything. What do you need?” Emmett would kill me if I left her hanging. Any chance to see her is also a bonus.

“I…” The rest of what she says comes out in an unintelligible jumble. Stupid cell phones.

Pulling the phone away from my ear for a second, I check the coverage—five circles. “I’m sorry, what? I couldn’t hear.”

I grin. She’s always been such a little smartass. “Bail you out? Of where?”

It’s the ass-crack of dawn—way too early for her to need help getting out of a bad date. I frown at my next thought—maybe it is way too late. What if she already spent the night with some idiotic frat boy? Damn it, I might have to beat the shit out of some undeserving douche just for touching her. Then again, maybe she needs a ride.

Please God, let it be that last one.

She huffs out a breath, obviously out of patience. “Of jail, Edward. I need you to bail me out of jail.”

What in the ever-loving fuck?

Now that Bella has Manwhoreward’s undivided attention, there will only be one more walk of shame and he pays for that one big time LOL!

After ditching her groom at the altar, Bella needs to get as far away from Willow City, TX as possible. The second she meets a hot rodeo star while hitchhiking, Bella knew her life would never be the same. Edward’s hot, cocky, and successful and could be just what Bella needs. Rated M for Lemons and Language. Curvy Bella and Cowboyward.

Damned if Miss Lizzie Lee doesn’t command my attention…AGAIN! Hell’n I couldn’t possibly pass up a fic with a banner like that *drool!*

I hadn’t thought to change out of my wedding dress or call a cab. I was too focused on getting the hell out of there. Now that I’ve been walking for a few miles trying to hitch a ride, I realize how faulty my plan was. Hell, I didn’t have a plan. I probably look absolutely crazed as I walk up the street in my wedding dress in the hot Texas sun.

Of course, with my crappy luck, every car that passes is filled to the brim with children. A family isn’t going to stop to help some random runaway bride on the side of the road. I huff and set my suitcase down in defeat. Perhaps I won’t be leaving Willow City after all. I rest my chin on my fist and pout at every car that passes, hoping my sad, puppy dog eyes will make someone want to stop.

Just as I’m about to lay down and weep, I see a beat up red Chevy truck coming my way. The truck looked to be on its last leg, but I’m not about to start getting picky. Making the most of what God gave me, I jut out my tits and pose so my curves are seen from miles away. I hold up my thumb and hope the driver will take a chance on me and stop.

The truck slows down as the driver sees me, and as it gets closer to me I get a glimpse of one of the hottest men I’ve ever seen. I quickly close my mouth because I know I must look like a fucking trout, and he’s definitely not going to pull over if he notices how I’m staring at him. I try to avert my gaze, but his face captivates me. Through his windshield I can see he has wild penny-colored hair, perfectly sculpted facial features and a jawline I just want to lick. Sunglasses hide his eyes, but I’m sure they’re perfect too. He’s so sexy I wonder how I’ll handle being in the car with him. That is, if he lets me into his truck.

The truck rolls to a stop and the handsome driver rolls down his window and with a smooth, rich voice he asks, “What are you doing dressed like that on the side of the road?” The corners of his mouth are lifted into a slight smile as he teases me.

Too bad I am not in the mood to be teased. Before I can rein in my sarcastic tendencies, I respond with, “Well, I just thought it would be a lovely day to take a walk in the scalding heat. And this old thing? I just forgot to do my laundry today.” When he doesn’t laugh at my sardonic remark, I roll my eyes and continue, “I’m trying to hitch a ride. What does it look like I’m doing?”

This time he does laugh. His deep belly laugh takes me by surprise and I stand awkwardly waiting with my suitcase in hand as I wait for him to invite me into his truck. “Is that anyway to talk to a man that you want a ride from?” he questions with a chuckle.

“Um, no I guess not,” I mumble awkwardly, as I consider resorting to begging if he doesn’t let me in his truck soon. “Look, I’m really sorry,” I quickly apologize, waving my hand around dismissively. “I just really need to get out of here.”

He looks at me for a long moment, as if struggling with something that has nothing to do with me, before nodding and pushing his passenger door open. “All right, get in.”

“I don’t know about you, but two close calls since the baby was born? Too many. Blame yourself.”

“I can’t help it if I have very virile sperm!” A wail comes from the monitor hanging off my belt loop and I sigh, knowing I’m beat. “I got her.”

“Thank you!” Bella sing-songs, the pleasure evident in her voice.

Walking dejectedly to the nursery, I smile big when I see the newest member of our quickly expanding brood crying and balling her fists up. “Shh, hey now, killer, Daddy’s here.” Lifting her up, I cradle her against my chest and kiss her head, inhaling that baby smell which makes me forget all my problems. Even being denied the beautiful curves of my wife.

“Did Mommy and Daddy wake you up? Daddy’s sorry, but he just loves your mommy so much he loses it sometimes,” I whisper against her forehead, placing a kiss and soothing her awhile before finally laying her on the changing table. “But don’t tell her, it’s our secret. Can’t have her thinking I’m wrapped around her finger.”

I blow a raspberry on her bare stomach and Viv gives me a gassy smile like she knows I’m a sucker and a liar as I place a fresh diaper on her before buttoning her up and placing her back in her crib. She fusses a little, so I grab the pacifier with the mustache on it and pop it in her mouth. She looks ridiculous, but thanks to hilarious friends and family, we keep getting them as gifts. She grasps my finger like she totally understands our conversation, and I smile down at her.

Her little eyes start to close so I stroke her baby fine hair until she settles. “Who am I kidding? All my girls are evil vixens. You’ve cast a spell on me.”

How long do you think Bella can hold out against Manchu on a mission to get laid? How do they thwart his super virile sperm when they both hate usin’ a condom? Oh, you’ll have to read to find out *wink!*

Apologies to those of you who have not read Deviant *gasp* but spoilers were inevitable in this case!

It’s the 1950’s and Edward has just returned home after five years in Cuba.

He leads me to a roof access door and we climb the stairs until we’re four stories above Rush Street, looking out at the city. Em unscrews the cap and tosses it over the side of the building before taking a huge swig. “There are big changes comin’ for us, Eddie.”

“Yeah?”

He points to the skyline. “All this is gonna be ours.”

I say nothing, letting him go on with the crazy talk.

“And it’s all because of you.” He comes towards me and grabs the back of my neck. “You ballsy motherfucker, you.” Pulling me close, he lowers his voice, “I know what you did.”

“You do?”

Em nods. “Dad said you did the hit. I mean, he didn’t go into detail, but you know.”

“Yeah, well . . . ” I trail off and snuff out my cig as memories from the night I put two slugs in that bastard’s skull flood my mind. “It had to be done.”

“It was fuckin’ brilliant,” Em muses, offering the bottle to me. “You weren’t even an associate at the time.”

“Nope,” I say with a laugh, thinking about how I was just some spoiled prick barely out of college. “That’s probably why no one suspected.”

“No one did.” He steps close to the ledge. “It made sense at the time when my dad said he got you out of here for your safety. He told the rest of the crew that you left for school then went to help him with his interests in Havana.”

“Ma said he sent her and Es to the ol’ country for a while.”

“Yep.” He looks out over the street. “This place went up for grabs, Eddie. Paulie and Felix had a goddamn field day. Made real names for themselves.”

“I’ll bet they did.”

We’re quiet for a bit, staring out into the city listening to the trains and sirens in the distance and the bustling traffic coming from the street below.

“Did you want to be the one who did it?”

“Yeah, I think so. I don’t know. It was so fucked up, man,” I say before striking a match and lighting another cigarette. “We were down at the morgue, ID’ing the body. My ma was goin’ wild, just losin’ it. But Uncle C, man, he was just. . . ” I’m at a loss for words letting the smoke billow out of my mouth. “Next thing I know, your dad’s pulling me into an office, saying they’ve got the guy who did it, and offering me the opportunity to handle it.”

Em nods, knowing that my father never wanted me to end up in the family business. “So you stepped up?”

“Yeah.” I hold up two fingers. “Your dad made two phone calls from the coroner’s office. The first was to Philly to confirm who pulled the trigger.”

“And the second?”

My lips curl into a sick smile. “The second person he called was Chopper.”

“Chopper? Old man Aro?”

“Yep.” I take another drag. “The night of the wake, we left the funeral home, met up with Chopper at the back of the Yards.”

“No shit?”

“No shit, man. Chopper had that greasy fuck hogtied on the slaughterhouse floor. Your dad handed me a .22, I pulled the trigger and that was that.” I shrug, feeling no remorse for my actions. No regret. No nothing.

Em spends the next few hours filling in the gaps, telling me all about what went down while I was gone all those years. We empty the bottle going back and forth as I listen to who killed who, who heads up what now and a coded rundown of who’s who in the family.

“The books are probably gonna be openin’ up soon,” Em says, looking at me to gauge my reaction at hearing that the family will be bringing in new members.

I don’t comment since I’m probably not eligible because I haven’t made my bones yet. At least none that anyone can know about.

Mobwards are so damned irresistible and LayAtHomeMom is givin’ us one for the ages!

“Alice, have you seen this dump? I can’t believe you talked me into this shit.”

“Yes, our place has some character to it, but I assure you that our food is amazing. Seth, our cook, is attending Seattle’s best culinary school,” I defend the diner and Seth.

“Sure,” Copper guys says skeptically.

“I’ll just get those drinks for you.” I put my pad in my apron and quickly go and get the drinks for them.

I grab all the drinks and put them on a tray and walk back over to the table. “Here we go. Diet Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, do the Dew for you, sweet tea for the gentleman, and your fresh coffee in the cleanest of the clean cups, sir.” I keep my smile fun and cute while passing the cups around. Most of the group chuckles, but mister grumpy raises his eyebrow as if challenging me.

“Are we ready to order?” I keep with my chipper self, ignoring his challenge.

“Yes, we are.” They all chatter away with what they want, and then I get to mister cranky pants.

“I want a sub, pepperoni, salami, ham, mustard and mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, and pickle on whole grain with provolone cheese. Do you think your cook can handle that?” He hands his menu to me with a cocky grin.

I walk over to the window to put my order in to Seth. “Hey, for the sub give him the Bella special.” I wink.

I get to the window to pick up my order for the business group and smile, seeing that Seth did exactly what I wanted to mister grumpy copper hair.

“Here we go.” I hand the orders to everyone, the last one going down in front of him. I wait.

I hear them chuckle and laugh at him. He just stares hard at it, then looks at me with a confused expression.

“Did you seriously have my food made into a smiley face?”

“Yes, sir, I hope you enjoy your food. If you need anything, please feel free to ask.” I smile and wink and leave their table. I check my other tables and the boys, and before I know it the business group is stacking dishes, so I quickly get the check and take it over to them.

“I hope the food was up to your standards.” I put the check down on the table.

“It was the best I’ve had. This is going to be my lunch spot from now on.” Linebacker pats his stomach to drive his point home. The others nod their heads in agreement.

I wait for copper hair to respond but he keeps his face in his phone.

They give me a credit card and I quickly run it and bring their receipt and wish them a good day.

I start cleaning up another table and when I reach theirs I nearly faint at the sight of the tip. Five one hundred dollar bills with a note.

‘Best sub ever’

I sit down before my legs give out. I can get the kids clothes and more groceries. Someone upstairs is finally giving me a small break.

I’m such a sucker for a down-on-her-luck Bella catchin’ a break from a man of means…Edward, of course!

Dr. Edward Masen, a lonely, broken man, is living in Seattle. Work is the only thing he knows. Dr. Isabella Swan just moved to Seattle, working as a pediatrician. It’s hate at first sight. Unfortunately, natural disaster upends their lives … will they survive? Full summary inside. AU/AH

“I love my job,” Dr. Edward Masen muttered as he sat in his Volvo. “I love my job. I really love my job.” One of the nurses waved at him as she passed him. He growled and ran his hand through hair. He did love his job, but he hated the vapid, awful nurses and single, female doctors, who saw him as a piece of meat. Someone to be conquered.

He was not some prize to be won, damn it. “Not today, bitches.” He got out of the car, swiping his messenger bag, white coat and lanyard with his ID card.

Walking into Harborview Medical Center, he dropped off his belongings in his rarely-used office and got ready for his twelve-hour shift as an emergency room attending physician. He focused his attention on doing his job, healing the sick and helping people. He kept his interactions with the female coworkers concise, but professional, though he’d rather not interact with them at all. He focused on his patients. He treated them respectfully and with the dignity they needed, especially when they were sick and scared.

He worked diligently, helping his patients and smiling warmly at them when they thanked him. This why he went into medicine, to help people. Not to fend off horny females, swatting them away like annoying gnats.

“Dr. Masen, we have a little boy with a suspicious rash,” said Shelly Cope, one of the charge nurses. “I’d send in one of the residents, but the boy is covered head-to-toe in this rash.”

“Thanks, Shelly,” Edward said, finishing his notes on his tablet. He handed her the tablet, getting the new one for the boy, Cole. He read the history and strode into the room. “Hello? My name is Dr. Edward Masen.”

“I’m Kathryn and this is my son, Cole,” the mom said. She was clearly worried and running her fingers through the boy’s hair.

“Why don’t you tell me the symptoms?” Edward asked, sitting down next to the quiet, sick little boy. Kathryn shared the symptoms and Cole piped up when Edward gave him a physical examination. “I think that you just have a mild form of malaria. It’s a heat rash.”

“I disagree,” said a petite, brunette doctor. She was dressed in a pair of gray dress pants and a light blue blouse, underneath her white doctor’s coat. She glanced at the tablet in her hand, wrinkling her nose. “Did you vaccinate your son?”

“Vaccinate?” asked Kathryn.

Edward looked at the young doctor. She was new, that was certain.

“A word, Dr. Swan?” he growled, glaring at her coat, seeing her name, Dr. I. Swan. The woman arched a brow, holding her tablet to her body. “Please?” They both gave Kathryn a clinical smile. Edward gestured to the hallway and glowered at the woman. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”

“Dr. Isabella Swan. Shelly paged me and asked me to consult on your case,” Bella said, holding out her hand. Edward sneered at her, leaving her hanging. She put her hand down, placing both of her hands on her hips. “And I would appreciate if you would not swear at me.” Edward continued to glare at her. “Look, I don’t think that Cole has malaria. He’s running a fever, which is not an indicator of heat rash. He also has never been vaccinated.” Bella showed Edward the medical records, showing that Cole did not receive any vaccinations.

“If the shoe fits,” Bella snarled back. “You didn’t look at the whole picture. Nor did you run any cultures. You were going to release this boy back to his mom with his this highly communicable disease. I ordered Shelly to take his blood and test it, just to verify my diagnosis. If you would pull your head out of your own ass, you would have done the same.” Before he could respond, Bella turned on her heel, gliding back into the examination room and explained, calmly to the mother what she believed her son to have.

Edward was panting in the hallway, wanting to strangle Dr. Isabella Swan, regardless of how gorgeous she was.

What the fuck?

Oil and water…cats and dogs…until an earthquake brings them together in a way neither of them expected!

My vampire rental arrived on my doorstep at twilight on what had been an unusually sunny day for September.

I opened my door and stared at the man whose only resemblance to his photograph was the uncomfortable expression on his face. It was as if he could smell something particularly unpleasant, such as dog excrement.

His eyes were shut tight so I had a quick sniff at my clothes. Not detecting anything untoward, I regarded the vision of beauty in front of me.

His long, bronze hair was in complete disarray, the very tips catching the last rays of the setting sun and forming a halo atop his head. His pale skin was flawless and smooth, his lips red and full – even though they were currently pressed firmly together – and his lashes were long enough to make girls the world over green with envy. He was obviously adept at applying his makeup for I couldn’t tell where he’d used it and where he hadn’t.

He took a deep breath in, sighed and opened his blood red eyes.

“Miss Bella Swan?”

His voice was deep and soft, and it wrapped around my name, enveloping it just like the red velvet of my cloak did my body on chilly evenings.

“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” he asked.

I shook my head and came back to my senses. “Of course,” I said, realising my error and moving to one side. I waved an arm in front of my body. “Do come in.”

He glided past me, mumbling something about humans having no sense of self-preservation, and placed his holdall on the floor beside the sofa. He turned and looked around my apartment.

“You only have the one room,” he said.

“Yes. Well, this and a bathroom.”

“Where is your bed?”

“The sofa pulls out.”

“Oh.”

“Oh? Oh no! I didn’t think about where you would sleep.”

“I won’t be needing a bed.”

“Of course you won’t. Perhaps you’d like to hang upside down from one of the joists, or I could empty my blanket chest if you like. It’s quite long. If you bend your knees, you might just fit.”

I didn’t know whether to laugh or blush. I did the latter. “So, what will you do while I’m sleeping?”

“Watch you.”

“No! No way! That’s creepy.”

“I’m a vampire. It’s my job to be creepy.”

“Please tell me you don’t mean that.”

“Isn’t that why you hired me?”

Had it not been for a very sweet PM from DataByteDL-FangirlinGrandma, I mighta waited until Moosals hit the complete button on her latest endeavor! Boy, am I glad she persuaded me not to wait…thanks, Dee darlin’ *HUGS!*

One second’s loss of control and all is ruined. Trapped in her own body Bella needs to find a way to make herself heard. A tale of love, loss and family. Jasper/Bella Friendship. Eventual Edward/Bella. Winner of an Emerging Swan Award

The scratching of Alice’s pencil halted and I turned to look at her. Her face was blank and her eyes glazed. She was seeing something beyond the lounge and judging by her emotions it wasn’t something good.

I suspected it was Edward, she had seen a few visions of him when he first left. She was waiting for the moment he decided to return to Bella, we all were, but as time passed the visions stopped. He had either found a way to avoid her sight or he had ceased making decisions altogether. That had worried her, and she had not spoken of it to Esme or Carlisle, they had been with him the longest and were both having difficulty dealing with his absence.

She came back to the present with a muffled cry, her emotions were a crippling mess of shock and horror.

The sound of her cry brought Esme from the guest room and Emmett from the kitchen. Only Rosalie and Carlisle were absent, Carlisle was at work and Rosalie was in the garage behind the house, she would not have heard Alice’s cry from that distance.

“Alice, what is it?” I asked. Pulling her into my lap and comforting her as best I could.

“Bella.”

The effect of that one word was instant. Esme clapped a hand to her mouth and Emmett shot around the couch to squat in front of us both.

“What about her?” he asked. “What’s happened to her?” He gripped her arm with such force Alice flinched.

“I didn’t look, the vision came to me on its own,” she said impatiently. “But that doesn’t matter, Bella’s been hurt, seriously hurt. I don’t know what happened to her, but she’s in hospital and it looks bad.”

Esme let out a small sob and wavered on her feet, Emmett moved to her side and put his arm around her shoulders, steadying her.

He turned to Alice. “Did you see Charlie or Renee there, if she’s in hospital they should be there, right?”

“I can’t see anyone else there, she’s all alone.”

“Try and search for Charlie’s future,” I suggested. “Maybe he was hurt too. It could have been a car accident or something like that.”

Again she slipped into the blank gaze that accompanied her visions but this time she snapped out of it much faster.

“I can’t see anything, there’s nothing but black for Charlie, and I don’t know Renee well enough to be able to pinpoint her future.”

“That’s okay,” I reassured her. “You can’t be expected to see everything.”

Emmett was calling the hospitals in the Forks vicinity trying to track Bella down. He finally found her in the Olympic Medical Center. He was currently trying to pry information about her condition, his wheedling tone slowly changing to one of irritation.

“Well fuck you too.” He finally roared into the receiver and threw it down. “They won’t tell me anything as I’m not ‘family’,” he sneered the word.

“Maybe Carlisle will have more luck when he gets home,” Esme suggested.

Just then we heard the squealing of brakes and the skidding sounds of Carlisle’s Mercedes making the turn into our driveway at high speed.

He ran through the front door and caught Esme as she launched herself into his arms sobbing.

He smoothed her hair and led her to the couch then crouched down to face Alice. “What did you see?”

Though he was outwardly calm his emotions were a raging confusion of fear and pain.

“She was in a hospital bed, her chest was bandaged and she wasn’t awake. There were machines and…” She lost control of her emotions and sobbed into my chest.

“Okay, it’s okay Alice, I will call the hospital and see if I can get more information. The rest of you, pack what you need, we’re going to Forks.”

Carlisle picked up the phone and the rest of us dispersed to gather anything we may need to take with us. I went to the safe in Carlisle’s office and grabbed the false ID cards and passports for us all. In an envelope at the back were two other sets of identification in the name of Bella Cullen and Bella Masen. I grabbed those too, it was best to be prepared.

When we reconvened in the lounge Carlisle was just finishing his call. “Yes, thank you for your help. We will be there as soon as we can.”

Carlisle hung up the phone and turned to us with a serious expression. For a moment I thought we were too late, that Bella had died. Apparently, Esme thought the same as she shook her head jerkily, whispering. “No, Carlisle, please don’t say it.”

He took her in his arms. “Not Bella, Charlie.” We let out a collective sigh of relief then immediately felt guilty.

Charlie was dead. Bella’s father. What had happened to them?

“Jasper,” Carlisle said turning to me. “I need you to get in touch with Jenks, we need a document naming us Bella’s guardians in Renee absence.”

“Where is Renee?” Esme asked.

“I don’t know.” Carlisle said rubbing his forehead wearily. “I spoke to one of Bella’s doctors and he said they hadn’t been able to contact her.”

“Oh, I hope she’s okay,” Esme fretted.

“We don’t have time to discuss this now,” Emmett said impatiently. “We need to go. Are we going to drive or get a flight?”

“Flying would be faster,” Esme said. “Alice can you check the weather conditions.”

She blanked out again for a moment, but came back with a relieved smile. “We’ll be fine. It will be early morning by the time we get to Forks and the day is overcast.”

I called Jenks and arranged for the documentation to be delivered to our Forks house the next morning. He griped about the speed but after some well chosen words and thinly veiled threats he was more agreeable.

It was already dusk here so we wouldn’t have to stick to the shadows at the airport. We gathered our bags and headed out to the cars when Rosalie spoke up.

“What about Edward?”

Shit.

OH,MY.GOD! This is such a great read! It certainly kept me readin’ into the wee hours for days on end LOL!

In keepin’ with a laid back summer, I’ll be postin’ as inspiration strikes for the comin’ months!

And inspiration has definitely struck this week LOL!

Got a couple of our favorite authors with new fics, as well as one from a newbie…well, as an author! We know Ipsita through the spectacular banners she creates as well as through Facebook if you are lucky enough to play in her sandbox LOL!

As if that isn’t enough, I found myself binge readin’ a classic from 2009…one you MUST READ if you haven’t already!

One boy, one girl; one rich, one poor; one privileged, one not; one Mod, one Rocker. This story takes you back in time to England in 1964 when these two gangs managed to exist side by side, until bank holiday weekends when they fought on the beaches. Inspired by true events. Rated M for all the usual reasons.

The jeans and leather-clad youth staring back at me bears no resemblance to the young lawyer who walked through the door less than half an hour ago. Edward Cullen, the respectable employee and all-round good chap is long-gone and a totally different species of human stands in his place.

Smirking back at me is bad-boy Eddie Masen, my alter-ego. He’s a guy who likes to break the rules, who frightens old ladies just by his appearance and swagger. Who lives like he rides – fast and dangerous.

He fights, he screws, and he drinks to excess and laughs at danger, but would risk his life for his pack if it came to it. He also owns two of the fastest production motorbikes in the world and tonight he plans to hit the ton on one of them.

I wink at Eddie Masen and throw the keys in the air and before they land in my hand, I make the easy decision that it’s Sexy Sadie who’ll have my legs wrapped around her engine tonight. This is my life now and until I return home on Sunday evening, or should I say ‘if’ I return home on Sunday evening. . .

I’m Eddie Masen, and I’m a Rocker!

* * * *

I sit in front of the mirror and stare at my reflection before starting my make-up routine. Alice has been very patient with me showing me how to apply eyeliner and shadow to enhance my ‘liquid eyes’, which is how she describes them. She’s still trying to get me to cut my hair as the fashion is for either a short pixie style or a shoulder length bob, but I’ve resisted so far. My ‘waist-length when wet’ curly brown hair is the one thing that makes me different from the girls that go to The Roxy and I’m determined to keep every inch of it.

All the other girls have caved and got one of the two styles that are considered to be ‘the thing’ for ‘Mods’, which is allegedly what we aspire to be. I’m okay with everything else ‘Mod’, like the clothes, the make-up, the music and the culture, but no-one is getting anywhere near my hair with a pair of scissors any time soon. That’s why I’ve always considered myself to be on the fringes of this fad and have never felt as though I belong in their ranks.

I do my best with the eyeliner and mascara but forego the shadow as I always make a mess of it. I apply the smallest amount of lipstick and smack my lips together to try and spread it around, then give myself a quick spray of L’aimant before slipping my shoes on and heading downstairs.

“I’m going out now,” I call as I pull on my imitation leather coat.

“Don’t be late,” my dad responds as usual.

“No dad,” I answer condescendingly in a sing-song voice and put my hand on the door knob.

Joan promises this fic is already complete at 36 chapters, plus the epilogue, and she’s postin’ twice a week so there’s no excuse for you WIP wussies not to jump on board!

Edward and Emmett interrupt Bella in her preparations to show a million dollar penthouse apartment and she’s not a happy camper!

“Okay, enough is enough.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “I want you out of here now please before I call the cops.” I walked towards the door and opened it hoping they would just casually walk out.

“I don’t think so Miss. In fact,” said green eyes, “it looks as though our Mr Hunter or your Mr Jones has just arrived.” A tall blond haired guy came into view on the monitor.

“Ahh he’s got a ponytail,” I moaned, unable to stop flipping into sales mode. “I hate guys who have ponytails, they always expect to get money knocked off because they think they are so gorgeous.” I stared at the screen until he walked into the elevator.

“Please Miss Swan,” said green eyes, and I thought that I could detect just a hint of desperation in his voice. “Just go into the other room until we have finished having our little chat with him, then we will leave you in peace.”

I stood my ground until I saw green eyes nod at the man mountain. For someone so big he moved surprisingly quickly and before I knew it I was over his shoulder and being bundled unceremoniously onto the floor of the closet in the master bedroom. He slammed the door and turned the key on the outside, leaving me angry and in complete darkness.

EPOV

“Is she safely locked away? I asked Emmett as he strode back into the room. He nodded.

“Feisty one,” he smirked. “I thought I was going to have to gag her.”

“You didn’t though, did you?” For some reason it was important to me that Miss Swan was okay.

“No,” he reassured me. “I left her locked in the closet, she’ll be fine in there.”

Emmett looked at me strangely but before I could say anything else the elevator doors pinged, the signal that James was about to walk into the apartment. Emmett stood behind the door and off to one side. James knocked on the door and pushed it open, shouting hello as he peered in. Before he even saw me Emmett felled him with a single blow to the back of his head. Paul and Demetri walked in after him and the three of them carried James’s body out to load him into the SUV.

I looked around the apartment to make sure everything was as we found it. Both Emmet and I knew better than to touch anything so all I had to do was wipe a few door knobs just to be sure. I walked into the main bedroom and wiped off the closet door. I couldn’t hear anything so Isabella must have been sitting quietly waiting for us to finish. I made sure the key was in the right position so she’d be able to push it out. I knew from the shape of her jacket pocket she had a ring of master keys on her. I quietly closed the bedroom door and made my way back to island in the kitchen, I really wanted to open the champagne and the chocolates and just sit and watch the world go by for an hour or so, but I had things to do, traitors to torture and kill, wives to divorce. I smiled at the bright, inexpensive vase placed next to the worn hamper and wondered what Tanya would think about it. I shook the thought away and made my way to the main door, dropping the lock so no one else could get in.

Once we were back in the car I called Whitlock.

“Two things.”

“Yes?” He replied. I wish everyone listened to me as intently as he did.

“The divorce papers we have ready?” He murmured that he understood what I was referring to. “Serve them today and make sure she is out of the house before I get home. I have proof that she was unfaithful so the pre-nup is null and void.”

“Are you sure?” he cautioned. “It might be legal but her family still has influence.”

“I’m sure,” I told him. “Give her the car and $100K in cash from my safety deposit box. That should keep her in the style to which she has become accustomed for a while. Cancel all her cards and change the alarm codes on the house.” Whitlock and I had already talked about this several times in the last few years so I knew he had everything ready to go.

“The second thing I want you to do is find out everything you can about a Miss Isabelle Swan, she runs a company called Swan Home Finders.”

“Everything?” he asked.

“Everything.” I confirmed.

“Can I ask why?”

“Isabelle Swan will be the next Mrs Cullen, that’s why.”

So far, Alison has managed to pull off equal parts gory violence and hilarious repartee LMAO!

Something about the deep, throaty voice on the other end makes her nervous.

“Are you asking for him or asking if it’s him?”

“Um. . . both, I guess.”

“You guess! Well, I don’t have the time or wish to play Guess Who with you, Miss. How did you get my number by the way? Or was that a random guess too?” the man on the other side barks.

Gathering every ounce of her almost non-existent patience, Bella tries to answer the rude man politely.

“Look, I am sorry, but I need to find Mike Newton. He needs to fix the shit he pulled last night and return my stuff. I can’t find his phone number. Well, I have part of it, but not the whole thing. I mean, the freaking coaster got wet and the ink was wiped out, so I’m trying blindly here, and I really, really need to find Mike. Also, you don’t need to be rude because I don’t have the leftover cents to put up with one more asshole! So. . . ”

Bella suddenly realizes that her angry rambling is not making any sense. A little mortified, she stops at the same time the person on the other side of the phone speaks.

“Wait! What coaster? What are you talking about?”

Taking a few deep breaths Bella starts again. “See, Mr. . . ”

“Cullen. It’s Edward Cullen. And who am I talking to?” He sounds impatient.

Against her better judgment, Bella starts again, a little slowly this time.

“Mr. Cullen, hello! I’m Isabella Swan, and I’m looking for a man called Mike Newton. All I have his phone number without the last two digits. The bar coaster he wrote it on, gets wet frequently with condensation from the glasses, so I’m trying out my best guesses here. You do understand the situation must be serious for me to act like a desperate telemarketing agent, right? I’m sorry I wasted your time, though.”

“Which bar?” Edward Cullen asks with a strange calmness in his voice that wasn’t there moments ago.

“I’m sorry?” Bella returns, confused.

“You said you have the number written on a bar coaster. Which bar we are talking about here?”

“It’s Bronko’s Pub.”

“Bronko’s. Hmmm.. . and you are Isabella?” he enquires.

“Ah, yes. Do you know anything about this Mike Newton I’m looking for? By any chance?” She is grasping at non-existent straws now.

“Nothing more than the fact that his phone number matches 80% to mine, and I’m the one with the 69.” He chuckles.

Edward Cullen’s tone suddenly becomes a little playful. Instead of feeling wary about this strange man, Bella finds herself smiling. A pregnant pause follows the moment, then he clears his throat, and she comes out of the light bubble of the last few seconds.

“All right then, Mr. Cullen. I’m sorry again for this intrusion. Because you are certainly not the person I need. Have a good day, sir,” she says, the corner of her mouth still a little stretched.

“Well, I may not be the person you need, Isabella Swan, but don’t waste your time chasing a lost game.” With that, he abruptly hangs up.

Puttin’ yourself out there for the first time is scary as hell but I don’t think Ipsita has anything to worry about…you’re gonna love it!

New Moon never touched on how much Edward’s family suffered along with him durin’ the months he was separated from Bella, especially Carlisle! This scene alone, which guts me every time, make Ithaca is Gorges a Classic, with a capital C!

Our son, this beautiful young man we both loved—he was wasting away before us, and Esme had no break from his pain.

“How is he?” I murmured, not releasing my grasp.

Esme shook her head sadly and I felt my body tense.

“He’s gotten worse,” she said. I must have looked surprised at her volume, because she shrugged and added, “He knows exactly how we’re feeling—there’s no reason to speak quietly.” I caught her meaning immediately—he knew how we were feeling and yet did nothing. It was wholly unlike Edward not to try to placate us with at least some semblance of normal behavior.

“What do you mean by worse?”

She gestured to the stairs. “He’s in his room. Go see.”

I entered Edward’s unlit bedroom. A human would have had trouble making out his shape on the couch, dressed as he was in a black hooded sweatshirt and dark jeans. The hood of the sweatshirt was pulled up over his hair, and he lay on his side in the fetal position with his hands jammed into the front pocket of his sweatshirt. He wasn’t breathing; his eyes did not move. He was behaving, for all intents and purposes, like the dead man he believed himself to be.

Esme was right. This was worse.

“Edward,” I called softly, but he made no acknowledgement of my presence. “Edward. Edward, son, please.” With each word I took a step toward him, landing finally on my knees before him. He did not look at me—his pitch-black eyes stared blankly forward, unfocused.

I choked on my incoming breath, and reached forward to him.

Gently, I pushed the hood down from his head, expecting him to grumble and replace it. He did nothing. I ran a hand through his thick hair—again, nothing. As far as I could tell, he hadn’t moved at all. I continued stroking his hair, feeling each strand race its way through my fingers.

My relationship with my son did not very often manifest itself physically, and when it did, it was usually in the form of a pat on the back or a hand on his shoulder. Even embraces were rare—with his gift, much love was expressed between us without anything overt on either of our parts. But seeing Edward lie there, his face frozen, his body unmoving—I couldn’t bear it. And so, before I even really knew what I was doing, I did something I’d not done since that night in Chicago so long ago: I picked him up.

Hooking one arm under his knees and the other under his shoulders, I lifted Edward to my chest. We were the same height, and I could gauge he was just shy of my weight. Yet he might as well have been an infant, so natural it felt for me to be cradling him. I sat out of habit, and Edward sank into my chest, shifting his position so that his head lay on my shoulder. The action brought back that moment, eighty-seven years ago, when I last had held in my arms this young man who would become my beloved son. He had been so light in my arms as we raced together over the rooftops, I would barely have registered his presence if it hadn’t been for the unnatural heat of his raging fever as he lay against me.

I had no idea how much he was allowing himself to perceive, but I filled my thoughts with my happiest memories of my years with him just in case. Private conversations, hunting together, sitting beside him on the piano bench while he composed, him at my side as I bound myself to Esme in marriage. The unmitigated joy I’d felt receiving Alice’s revelation, shortly after Edward had returned from Denali, that he had found his mate.

Paternal love was a strange animal. Romantic love was simple, or at least it was for a vampire. One moment I had looked at Esme and found that my entire being was flushed with an undying and immutable love. Eighty-four years later, it was still like that every time I laid eyes on her, even if I’d looked away for only a fraction of a second. My love for Edward was completely different, intermingled with a whole host of feelings: regret, pride, worry, admiration, fear.

Esme was no more capable of hurting me than I was her. But Edward—it was possible for him to stalk out the door carrying the chunk of my heart he’d claimed as his. He’d done that to me once before. Now he’d done it to Bella.

My arms began to vibrate and I realized that Edward, hearing my thoughts, had begun to growl quietly. I shifted thoughts back to him, running my hand once more through his hair. Well, that was good; at least I was generating some semblance of a response from him.

“I’m sorry, son,” I whispered. “Just because I disagree doesn’t mean I don’t support you wholeheartedly. I will try to think about something else.”

A scent from the doorway caught my attention, and I looked up.

“I heard him growling,” she explained in a whisper.

Ah. It was no wonder she looked anxious. Esme lived in a constant and misplaced fear that at some point her family members might literally tear each other apart. Whenever Emmett and Jasper got going in a wrestling match, she would inevitably put a stop to it out of her concern for their personal safety. I found her worry endearing; our sons largely found it annoying.

“We’re fine,” I answered her, pulling Edward a little closer. “He’s okay.” He may not be pleased that I didn’t agree with his course of action, but he certainly wasn’t going to attack. I wasn’t entirely sure he could attack in this state. That was something I would have to think about. Edward hadn’t hunted in several weeks, and now it seemed it might prove difficult to get him to perform the actions necessary to feed himself. Perhaps I could kill for him, and then let him drink—we would have to see.

Esme nodded, appraising Edward’s utter lack of movement. She then mouthed to me, We need to talk. Her golden eyes were sad. In the time it took me to nod and shift my gaze back to Edward, she was back downstairs.

I stood again, keeping our son in my arms, and crossed the hallway to my own bedroom. Esme always insisted on dressing our bed in the most luxurious linens she could lay hands on that were in keeping with the character of the house. I never failed to indulge her, although frankly it made no difference to either of us—we could just as soon be intimate on a bed of nails.

Today, though, I was thankful for the softness as I pulled back the down comforter and laid Edward between the silken sheets. He gave me a brief surprised look, and I smiled. At least there was a little acknowledgement. I pulled the covers up to his shoulders and replaced the hood of his sweatshirt on his head. “I’m going downstairs for a bit,” I whispered to him, “but I will be back to check on you.” I briefly rubbed his back and he grumbled something that sounded like overprotective.

I smiled. If he was all the way back to criticizing me, things were looking up. “Yes,” I replied coolly. “Like father, like son.”

A chance encounter with a stranger on the ferry is the spark that sets off a chain of events. By the time Bella realizes what’s happening, is it too late to change her mind? What happens when fate grabs you and won’t let go? AU/OOC B/E

You know, I waited a looong time for this fic to be marked complete! It was torture not to just dive right in…you know how I love my WIPs! But, when I read these lines, the hair rose on the back of my neck and I fuckin’ KNEW it was gonna be worth the wait…AND IT WAS!

This isn’t a love story. This is a seduction. A complete persuasion of mind, body, and soul. Of behavior and beliefs. And I wouldn’t change it for the world…I think.

Alienated from his family for years by the bloody carnage he wreaks in one of Alice’s visions, Edward has only recently gone back to feedin’ off animals when he crosses Bella’s path so it’s incredibly difficult for him to resist killin’ her!

His brows drew together in a slight frown, those fathomless pupils of his holding me pinned in place. Closer, closer, they beckoned, urging me to relax in his presence. While my limbs were only too happy to oblige him and remained still, my heart raced faster, faster, and I honestly couldn’t tell if it was fear or desire that affected me so. My silence had lasted way beyond what was appropriate for a conversation.

Ever so slowly, he raised a hand, his fingertips hovering close to my jaw. He watched his fingers intently, a look of extreme concentration on his face. I couldn’t help the gasp that rushed over my lips when the tip of one finger traced a line up to the top of my ear and rubbed softly against the overheated arch. It was cool against my skin, soothing the embarrassing burn with his lightest touch before he moved his hand into the hair at the back of my neck. His lips parted the slightest bit as his eyelids dropped just a fraction. He feels it too…

Oh, God, what is happening to me? I’m not this kind of person!

It was as if I was watching myself on video as we both leaned closer to one another. I let my eyelids fall closed and leaned forward slowly, needing to feel his lips undermine, but I just couldn’t cross those last few millimeters. Like somehow, what I was doing would be less wrong if he was the one to kiss me. Cool, sweet breath ghosted low over my cheek.

So, so close…

“Edward,” I whispered, just so I could feel his name form on my lips as I tasted his breath.

I felt more intoxicated with each lungful of air we shared, every molecule of me attuning itself to every molecule of him. Being so close to him was slowly lulling me into some sort of sensitized lethargy, where only he and I existed, his cool strength soothing my warm skin.

His forehead grazed mine, the tip of his nose tickled my cheek, and his lips were coming closer. I was only breathing him now, taking shallow breaths as he exhaled. I was almost floating; adrift on a cloud of lust and adrenaline and Edward, and my only anchor was the hard fingers clenched so tightly in my hair.

What is he doing to me? Things like this…they just don’t exist.

And then, it didn’t. He didn’t.

Without warning, I was falling forward onto the seat next to me, barely managing to get my hands out to protect my face.

Edward was gone. No sign of him whatsoever. Had I been sleeping? No, he couldn’t be a dream because right at the back of my neck, where he’d been clutching me so tightly, my scalp stung. Some of my hair must have gotten caught in his fingers.

What the hell just happened to me?

I don’t have enough words in my vocabulary to sing the praises of Chain Reaction so just READ READ READ READ!!!!

If, like me, your lady bits have a a Pavlovian reaction to jinglin’ tool belts, this Constructionward fills the bill in more ways than one!

They came in frequently, eight of them, and filled the huge table at the back. Construction workers, all dressed in plaid and denim, complete some days with tool belts. They arrived, taking over the entire place with their laughter and jibes. They teased Jess mercilessly, ate huge meals, drank a lot of coffee, and basically made our day.

Especially mine.

“Damn it,” Rose hissed. “They were here yesterday. I didn’t expect them today. I sat on the wrong side of the booth!”

I knew without looking he was in his usual spot. I peeked up again, meeting the gaze that made my heart beat a little faster than normal and my cheeks burn. Vivid, warm green met my nervous blue, then they dropped down, breaking our connection.

“Yeah,” I breathed. “He’s there.”

“We need to convince Shelly to cover the end wall with a mirror,” Rose mused. “I’d even pay for it.”

I giggled as Jess put my toast and scrambled eggs in front of me.

“Lord,” she whispered. “The hotness level at the table. I might spontaneously burst.”

“Is Mike there?”

She nodded, her eyes dancing with glee. “He stayed back yesterday and asked me out.”

Edward is a single dad and Bella isn’t as happy as she’d like to be with her fiancé. The two of them meet as Edward starts the adventure of fixing up an old house and as hard as they try, they can’t stay away from each other.

With his own stupidity contributin’ to his downfall, Mike becomes steadily relegated to the background once Bella meets Edward!

“Swan’s Hardware, this is Bella speaking.” I answered the phone on day six of us fighting. “How can I help you?”

“Hi, I was just wondering if you sold tiling tools?” The man asked.

“Yes, we carry a wide variety of different tools as well as different brands.” I answered, and I wondered if this guy was cute. He certainly sounded cute. . . I just hoped he wasn’t old. Then I snapped myself out of it because even though we were fighting, I was engaged.

“And you’re open until what time today?” He asked. I looked at the clock and it was already four.

“We close at five on Saturdays.” I explained. “But, we’re open on Sundays as well if you can’t make it.”

“I’ll be there. Thanks.” He said.

“Well, I’ll see you in a few.” I blushed as I hung up the phone. That was so not professional and I really shouldn’t be blushing because of a guy. . . a customer. . . on the phone.

I eagerly watched the clock, waiting for this potentially beautiful man to walk through the door. When I heard the bell ding, I shot up and made sure there were no bumps in my ponytail. What the hell was I doing? When I turned the corner, I had to take a second because if this was the guy from over the phone, he was fucking hot. Like hotter than anyone I’d ever met before.

“Hi,” I smiled. “Can I help you with something?”

“Are you Bella?” He asked with a crooked smile.

“I am.” I nodded.

“I’m the tile guy from over the phone.” He laughed. “Could you help me find the tools I need?”

“Yeah, they’re this way.” I turned and tried not to squeal. He was fucking hot, just like I’d predicted from his voice. “What kind of tools do you need?” I asked as we stopped at the aisle dedicated to tiling.

“I need spacers and leveling pliers.” He said, completely distracted as he looked at the different spacers we carried.

“The Vitrex brand is popular.” I told him. “And then these are the pliers my Dad always says are good.”

“You’re Dad a contracter?” He asked, picking out the spacers he need and then picking up the QEP pliers.

“He owns the store.”

I blushed as I lead him to the back of the store where our cash register was. I rung all his things out and told him his total. I really wanted him to keep shopping here so I could talk to him, but he was a customer and not my fiancé. Dad would kill me for flirting with customers and Mike would just be pissed that I was flirting with someone else.

“Have a nice day.” I smiled as I handed him the brown paper bag.

“Oh, I will.” And he winked again. I watched him as he left the store. Well, I stared at his ass as he walked out of the store. I seriously needed a cold shower or something. I was not one to gawk at strangers butts as they walked away, especially not customers butts.

“Earth to Bella.” Dad laughed as he waved his hand in front of my face.

“What?” I asked, turned to face him. Dad was like a ninja or something. I hardly ever heard him coming downstairs.

“We’re closing. It’s five.”

“It’s already five?” I wined. I didn’t want to go home to World War III right now. Not after I’d had such a pleasant conversation with a fuck hot guy.

Even though it takes a while until they finally get together, it’s such a pleasurable read, I didn’t even mind!

Hope you enjoy today’s recs and, to make up for bein’ MIA, please enjoy some gratuitous ROBPORN!!!

College Junior, Edward Masen’s life has taken hit after hit, and he’s just trying to get by as best he can. When the girl he’s convinced is ‘the one’ stumbles into his life; he’s not prepared for her or the utter disarray she brings into his life. EPOV. AU/AH

I always thought that I would one day find the girl for me, and that would be it. One day, I would just see her, and the great big world would instantly fall into place. It would be simple; it would be easy, and we would overcome whatever obstacle we had to, because we would be together. We would fall in love, and everything would magically be perfect, because that was how fairy tales worked. It was a belief I held onto for a long time.

Until I just didn’t anymore.

I grew up, and my outlook on life and love changed drastically. Life did that to me. By the time I got to university, I’d almost given up on all of it. School was hard, life was harder, and I was busy trying to just get through it all without completely falling to pieces.

So when she stumbled into my life – quite literally, might I add – I wasn’t prepared.

Because, you see, the thing is that I did meet the girl. . . I looked at her, and I just knew – and then, from that moment on, nothing about my life was ever remotely simple or easy.

Fucking fairy tales.

Oooh, I can hardly wait for y’all to find out exactly WHY Bella makes his life even more complicated than it already was *wicked evil witchy cackle!*

This was originally an entry in the We Love Mobward Contest! In case you haven’t already read the one shot, it’s set in the Great Depression:

Being nearly homeless on the streets with nothing to show for your name tends to make a person less picky about the jobs they take.

I was never really told flat-out what type of business we ran here, but based on ledgers and forms from the Cullens’ previous assistant (who I’d never had the courage to ask about, but kept very sloppy, incriminating notes), I knew that the Cullens specialized in transporting a certain Mr. John Barleycorn from the barrel house to his favorite gin mills and juice joints all over Chicago and the surrounding area.

I was lucky that Mr. Cullen had found me that day; looking unkempt, bedraggled, desperately in need of a bath and food, and hopping from shop to shop begging for work.

He’d told me I had an honest face.

I was lucky.

I reminded myself of that fact all day long, every day: when I woke up in my nice apartment that had inexplicably come as one of the perks of the job, when I had food to eat, when I had clean clothes to put on, when I walked out of my house and could pay for a train ticket.

I reminded myself of it most often, though, when I was at work.

When I had to write ledgers in code to protect my boss in the event that the police ever came in wanting to see the books.

When Mr. Cullen asked me to take a note that was clearly going to result in another person ending up dead before the end of the day.

When I let the fear take control, knowing that if I make a mistake it would likely result in my disappearance, and another young girl would take my place and my apartment and my job with my wilted flowers.

Despite the heat of the room, a cold chill ran down my spine.

But it’s not long before certain flashes of memory cause Bella to question her circumstances!

“It’s not a coincidence that you found me that day, is it?” The question was not more than a whisper, but I knew he heard me.

“No. It wasn’t.”

My mind went into a panic and all the anger fell away and gave way to fear. I wanted to run, but I couldn’t make my body move. If I did run, where would I go? I had no money, no prospect of a future. All I had was here and now with a man who had just admitted to me that he had purposely pulled me into a mafia family, but refused to tell me why.

Bella, Rosalie and Kate are BFF’s startin’ their senior year of high school. They bemoan the poor quality of senior photos from previous years when Kate brags about her mother hirin’ a professional to take hers!

Of course, Bella and Rose roll up to the beach at La Push to watch and provide moral support…but mostly to watch!

“It’s just you being photographed, right?” Edward Cullen came towards us, a camera around his neck and a cigarette dangling out of his mouth.

“Uh, yeah,” Kate said.

“We’re just observing,” I said quickly, gesturing between Rosalie and I.

His eyes flicked over to me immediately, and I was taken aback at how green and intense they were. It was like he could see straight down into my soul, and I realized that was one of the things that made his photography so good. He really did have intensity, and that translated into his photos, like he saw a piece of his subjects that no one else could.

“I see. Nice to meet all of you. Want to get started?”

Rosalie and I fell back, sitting on the hood of Rosalie’s car as they started to set the scene. Carmen stood over with Alice, offering input here and there, but really, Edward and Kate took center stage. He spoke to her softly, and he moved his hands animatedly as he talked.

She posed, adjusting accordingly when Edward instructed her to, and Alice took her place by his side, holding a second camera.

It was incredible to watch, because he was passionate and obviously very talented. He talked almost the whole time in a rough, quiet voice, telling Kate what to do and offering encouragement. Alice spoke to him every once in a while, and he just nodded at her, never even looking in his direction. It was interesting to watch them, too, because they were so in tune with each other. Edward would hold his hand out for a different lens, and Alice would already have it ready.

Rosalie had lost interest fairly early on, and was alternating between texting her boyfriend, scrolling through her phone, and halfheartedly watching Kate. I didn’t blame her, because honestly this just wasn’t her thing. She would always support Kate but senior pictures weren’t all that riveting. It made me wonder why I was so fascinated, but I realized with a blush that it was the photographer that kept catching my eye.

Annie is a single woman, fetching, lucky and mildly obsessed with Twilight. She doesn’t miss a thing in her life. Until one day she sees her own personal Edward. A beautiful boy, way too young to even think about it. – – – AH, ExB kind of, December. Rated M.

Started way back in 2009, Betti calls this a Twilight fan fiction…or sorts, so be prepared for something a little different *wink!*

I usually hated the train station after nightfall, but I didn’t care tonight.

Kicking that new trainee’s ass was definitely worth getting home late for, even on a Friday…

I still felt peppy when I saw the 9:15 Regional approached the track.

While the train slowed down, its breaks performing their usual deafening Heavy Metal tune, I carefully scanned the passing wagons. If I was going to take a nap during the boring one-hour ride, and I was pretty sure I was, picking the right compartment was crucial.

The FOURTH in the Angel Series. Its a year later. When the Cullens move to a new home, Edward begins to hear something he can’t explain. Is it a ghost or is he losing his mind? As always, there’s love, angst, and music, plus old friends & new. AU/slightly-OOC Canon couples E/B Lemons/language

“I am used to bad days as they make up most of the 365 days that we are allotted per year. This is my life, a series rainy days. And for me, when it rains it pours.” But what happens when that bad luck suddenly changes at the hands of a man who rarely feels any emotion other than anger? And will it be soon enough to save the most precious person in Bella’s life?

There wasn’t much to this tiny hovel of a town so the caliber of restaurants was seriously lacking. I had been frequenting The Lodge since my return to Forks, as it was the fanciest establishment here. So, that is where we went. It was either that, the diner or some fast food joint.

Then, I got stuck with some mousey brunette who couldn’t speak in complete sentences, stammered a lot and looked absolutely defeated by her position in life. No one asked her to be a waitress. I did enjoy the fire that flashed in her eyes when I yelled at her, though.

What I didn’t enjoy, however, was when I realized I had forgotten to leave her a tip and went back to rectify that, only to walk in and hear her belittle me. Me! My tie was worth more than her entire outfit!

No one made a mockery out of me. I expected respect. Demanded respect.

I looked once more at my desk and decided, fuck it. I wasn’t going to get anything done tonight anyway.

But I think perhaps I should teach that waitress a lesson. She has no idea what it was to play with the big boys.

But she was about to learn. . .

Havin’ cost her the job she so desperately needed, Edward is the one who learns a lesson when faced by the brutal consequences of his pettiness durin’ a run-in with Bella at a local grocery story!

The child looked up at her mother with a big grin on her face and my heart stopped. This child was sick, very sick. Her lips had a bluish tint, her skin was ashen and she kept coughing. She had a cannula in her nostrils. But none of that mattered because her smile, it was so sweet and innocent and loving.

“Tanks, Mommy.” She said, wrapping her arms around her mother’s thin frame.

“We need to get you home, Baby Girl.” I froze.

I knew that voice.

What was her name? Belinda? Beth?

“Bella.” I said out loud.

Her warm chocolate eyes turned cold as she turned to look at me.

“What do you want?” She asked rudely.

“Is this your child?” I asked.

She moved protectively towards her, cradling the child to her leg.

“She’s sick.” I said.

“Wow, isn’t the big fancy doctor brilliant? Now, if you’ll excuse us. . . ” She went to go around me but I stepped in her way.

“What’s her diagnosis?” I asked.

“None of your business.” She said, trying to sidestep me.

“Are you treating her illness?” I asked.

That stopped her cold.

“Are you serious?” She asked. “No, I am just sitting around waiting for her to die, in the apartment I won’t have much longer as I have no way to pay the rent, because no one is hiring a medical school drop out who is also a single mother with a terminally sick kid, because the job I had that was kind of flexible with the hours, was taken from me by some emotionally stunted, competitive, heartless bastard. Now, I have to go. My daughter needs a breathing treatment and I can’t afford another trip to the ER tonight.” She said, her voice constantly breaking.

I looked at her this time. Really looked at her.

She was exhausted. There were bags under her eyes; dark, pronounced luggage sized bags. She had lost some weight in the last month. Weight she didn’t have to lose. Her hair was stringy and lifeless. Her shoes worn. Her clothes tattered.

Yet, her child was pristine. Clean bouncing curls and good clothing.

She was a good mother. And thanks to me, an unemployed one.

Realizin’ Bella’s not gonna accept any help from him after what he did to her, will he find a way to redeem himself?

After his brother dies in a car accident, Edward returns to his hometown to raise the little boy that was left behind. But raising a baby alone isn’t easy, especially for a man who has spent the last few years partying and avoiding responsibilities. Can his beautiful bookworm neighbor be his saving grace? Daddyward. Lemons.

I’m a stranger to him; I never came home after he was born, too busy with my former life. But as I hold him, I regret not meeting him sooner. He is much smaller than I imagined. I’ve never been around a baby before; I never knew how small they felt. He can’t weigh much; he is so little I am afraid to hold him for fear that I will cause some damage. When he is in my arms around mom, she watches me like a hawk, as if I will break her six-month old grandson.

I give him his bottle, fascinated with watching him suck on the rubber nipple. He watches me as I feed him, his large eyes filled with curiosity. I smile at him, with my first smile since I came home. My heart picks up as he grins back, before continuing to drink his formula.

As cheesy as it sounds, I feel odd even thinking this, but I feel as if we just shared our first moment together.

“I’m going to take care of you from now on Charlie,” I tell him in a quiet voice.

He stares up at me as if he knew exactly what I just said, and smiles again.

“I promise to do a good job buddy,” I say with a tired sigh, “But first, we just have to find a place to live. Would you like that?”

Charlie giggles at me, and I smile in return. “Can I take that as a yes buddy?” Charlie giggles again.

When he finishes his formula, I bring him to rest on my shoulder and pat his back as I have seen women do on television. I wait, expecting some sort of response from the baby, and finally he burps.

“Was that good buddy?”

Charlie giggles and reaches out for me, and I hold him close. It’s hard to look at him sometimes; he looks so much like my older brother. It’s disconcerting, holding his son, knowing that my brother is gone. I’ve never been religious, but now that Seth has died, I hope there is some sort of afterlife. I would like to know he is watching over his son.

Awwwww!

It’s early days so we haven’t seen anything of Bella yet but Edward is certainly gonna need help with baby Charlie other than his disapprovin’ mother!

Bella is deaf and due to her disability, she is unable to do the one thing she’s always wanted to do, follow in her father’s footsteps and be a firefighter. Overcoming the hatefulness of several people, she works in the firehouse, but can she be the saving grace in a scary emergency situation?

From the summary, you’d never expect Bella’s introduction to Edward takes place in Las Vegas at her best friend’s bachelorette party!

“If the bride-to-be could pick a friend and join us on stage, we’ll give her a night to remember,” the big guy says as I read his lips.

My eyes move looking for Alice. It only takes me a few seconds to find her under the next table. Fucking hell, the work of being her bridesmaid is never over. I hope she knows how much she owes me for this.

My eyes go back to the stage and smile. “You want us then,” I say pulling on Rose’s arm.

The guy takes hold of my hand and helps me step from the table onto the stage. I make sure Rose gets on the stage as well, and smile and nod my head to the guy who is behind me.

“I’m Rose, and this is Bella, the bride-to-be!” Rose says smiling at the hunky man.

I gulp realizing the guy behind me must have been speaking to me.

I turn to him and he’s looking down at me.

“Come on, Bella, we need you and Rose to sit on these chairs,” Rose signs and I walk with the guys. I sit on one chair and Rose is sitting behind me on the other.

The guy in front of me places the microphone down he must have been talking into and moves to me. He starts to make sure I am sitting in the chair the correct way. As he looks up, his sharp green eyes lock on to me. “Are you deaf?” he signs. I nod my head and he smiles a little. “Normally, during the dance, we have to ask if the lady is okay. I can’t do that with you, so if at any time you feel unsafe, don’t want to be in a position that I put you in, or if I’m making you uncomfortable, tap my body—anywhere on my body—three times.”

I nod at him in agreement, and he smirks before winking at me. “I am sure, however, that you will enjoy this,” he signs before standing up and turning away from me only to look back at me.

What follows is a totally swoonworthy description of Magic Mikeward makin’ his moves on and around Bella to the point where they’re both obviously lost in the moment LOL!

He looks at me, and caresses himself, and then moves closer to run his hands over and down my body. He positions himself between my legs, by moving them apart with his knee. As his hands run back up my body, he moves his hips between my legs, leaving no space between our bodies.

“You doing okay?” he mouths moving his head next to mine.

“Yes.”

His nose runs around my cheekbone, and then making sure I can see his lips, he mouths, “Implant, left, right, or both?”

“Right,” I mouth glancing to my right side.

He nods and lifts me up, and flips me over. I am face down and he grabs my hips lifting me to my hands and knees. His hand goes to the left side of my head, and his fingers lace through my long hair.

He pulls my hair, moving my head back, and arching my back as his hips thrust against me again, pulling my hair just enough to make me see stars. My eyes move to the corner, and his green eyes hit me, the lust in them seems to have heated up during the dance.

The next few minutes go by with him flipping my body around, and placing me in several different positions as he simulates sex. He picks me back up and I lock my legs around his waist as he thrusts.

The song comes to an end, and he winks at me and places me back on my feet. He keeps a hold of me, making sure I am steady. I feel Rose clasp my hand and I look at her to see she’s grinning widely.

Not suitable for children or teens below the age of 16 with possible strong but non-explicit adult themes, references to violence, and strong coarse language. -Rated M!

Kidnapped right out of her own home, Bella wakes up in a strange room and she’s not alone!

He looked tall, his feet dangling off the other arm rest. I didn’t move his blanket, but if I leaned over I could see his face. A patch of bronze hair was visible. What was his name again? Hold on, Edward.

His name was Edward. I remembered him now. He had fought that guy. . . James. After, Demitri and Felix dropped me off. I remember their names!

Boom. Boom. The room erupted in music, the bass making the CD’s around it shake. The stereo was going off.

Oh shit. What was I going to do?

Edward leaped off the couch, I flew backward landing on my butt with a wince. I looked up, scared this would be the moment everything I feared would happen. He had a gun, he was in a wide stance, and his eyes were wide. I was going to die.

It hadn’t been a nightmare, I was really this guy’s property, and I was really going to be a sex slave for as long as he didn’t kill me.

Sobs came out of my mouth before I could stop them, I quieted them, but I knew he heard.

“Oh, shit. I’m so sorry.” Edward said again, and I heard him click the safety off on his gun. “Okay. . . I know you’re scared.” Edward said, shaking his head, “Please don’t cry, I’m not going to hurt you.”

He lied. He took a step back hitting his heal on the couch. I turned, stumbling my way up, pushing with my feet and semi-successfully ignoring the pain. I stepped up onto his bed and off the other side.

“It’s okay.” Edward lied again; I turned to look at him he had his hands up like I had a gun on him this time. “I’m not like the others.”

Tears sprung to my eyes. I dropped down opening the bedside door and going in backwards, avoided the center support bar. I closed the door behind me, curling my legs into myself and putting my head down on my knees. It’s the only way I fit, but at least I didn’t have to see him, and he couldn’t see me.

Eventually, Edward manages to coax her out and explains why this is happenin’ to her…and to him!

“Yesterday was my eighteenth birthday, and I have been dreading that day since I could remember.” I lowered my gaze, not feeling comfortable, staring into his deep green eyes.

“I can’t help that I was born into this family, and if I could leave, I would, I swear, but it’s this or death. A few family members found out the hard way.” He sighed, this time, a hand coming up to grip his straight nose. “You have enough problems right now, but I guess I thought you should know why this is happening.

“I’m sorry you are a prisoner. You were given to me, to do what I want with, but I don’t want this. I don’t want this at all, but refusing a tradition?” He shook his head. “It was just easier to let it happen, but I promise I won’t force you into anything. I’ll keep you safe as long as I can. If you weren’t gifted to me, you would have been sold, and. . . had a far worse fate than this.” He pushed up off the floor, doing a push up, to get himself up. He walked away, and I just covered my head with the blanket again.

Believe me, it gets even weirder when they’re finally forced to leave his room but you’ll have to read it to find out LOL!

Bella is having second thoughts about the wedding to her childhood sweetheart when a chance meeting sees her spending a sizzling night with cowboy Edward. The wedding is called off but not before Edward finds out the truth. Pregnant and alone, will Bella ever find Edward again or will he fade to a cowboy dream? AU. Canon Pairings. ExB. Weekly updates. M for language & lemons.

Determined to give Bella a taste of Las Vegas fun before her weddin’ to Jacob, Rose drags her off to a cowboy bar where her world’s about to flip on its axis!

Dancing usually instilled complete terror in her but with Edward it was easy. He guided her effortlessly with a steadying hand here and there. She found that she wasn’t self-conscious, just one of the crowd for once. The song came to a crescendo and he spun her around and around, half a dozen times in a row, stopping her by pulling her into waltz hold. She was a little dizzy and made the fatal mistake of steadying herself on him and gazing up into his big green eyes.

A slow song came on and he started to sway in time to the music, keeping a safe distance between their bodies. There didn’t seem any harm in it so she swayed with him, suddenly aware of the heat of his body and every tiny movement of his hand against her back. She felt like everything was a little foggy, like there was something that she should have remembered but couldn’t. It seemed like the most natural thing in the world to move her body closer to his and rest her head a moment on his shoulder like other couples nearby were doing. His shirt was soft clean cotton, comforting against her cheek. His scent was all man, citrus and fresh but with a touch of musk that spoke volumes. She lifted her head and gazed again into his eyes. He leaned down and touched his lips to hers.

Jacob! She sprung from Edward like he had bitten her. “Sorry,” she said, “I’m sorry.” He stood dumbfounded on the dancefloor as she backed up until she hit a table, turned herself in the right direction then ran. She ran straight towards the door with no thought of Rose.

A row of yellow cabs were waiting outside and she dived into the first one, mumbling that she wanted the Bellagio before breaking into floods of tears. What had she done? She was getting married in three days. In fact, she looked at her watch, it was the middle of the night so technically only two days. What the hell was she doing flirting with a sexy cowboy?

What the hell, indeed! And, if she’s just run away from him, how did she wind up pregnant? Last I heard tell, sperm aren’t carried on the wind LMAO!

When Bella left years ago, she never had a chance to say good-bye to her friends. When she returns, she’s shocked to see that the ‘group’ was no longer intact. Will she be the one to get them back together, or will something else prevent it from happening.

One sure way to grab my attention for a new story is to start it out with our gang as kids growin’ up together!

“Why does a guy always have to be Red Ranger, why not a girl?” Rose asked.

“Please, that will never work, I’m not following any girl leader. Alice is too small. And just look at Bella; she gets bruises all over her legs from just walking, so she can’t be Red Ranger.” Emmett pointed at me.

I suddenly felt self-conscious about the dark marks on my legs. I shifted uncomfortably as they all stopped to stare at me. Luckily, Rose wasn’t finished with her side of the argument.

“So why can’t I be Red Ranger? I’m sick of being Pink just because I’m a girl and know gymnastics.” Rose used the fireman pole to slide down then stood nose to nose with Emmett.

“Fine, be Rita Repulsa, you’re ugly enough,” Emmett quirked.

Rose’s mouth dropped open, and she looked stunned. After a moment, she kicked him hard in the shin, causing him to wince. She took a step back and glared at him with her hands balled into fists.

“Emmett!” I gasped in shock, he had never been that rude before.

“That was mean—apologize,” Alice ordered.

“Say something.” Rose glared at her twin brother.

“What? He’s right, no one can yell quite like you.” Jasper shrugged.

“You know what? I’m too old for this baby game anyway. I’m leaving.” Rose flipped her hair over her shoulder.

“Good riddance,” Emmett yelled at her back as he rubbed his shin.

“And that didn’t hurt!”

“Rosalie, come on. Mom said we had to stay together; if you leave I have to go,” Jasper complained.

“You should have thought about that before you decided to agree with the jerk,” Rose snapped as she yanked her bike off the ground.

She straddled it and took off down the street.

Jasper groaned, giving Emmett a dirty look. “Thanks a lot.”

He chased after Rose, quickly catching up on his own bike. Emmett rolled his eyes then glanced at the rest of us with a disappointed look.

“You coming, Edward?”

Edward glanced at Alice and me. “What about the girls?”

“I can be Pink Ranger, and Bella can be Yellow. We can draw names for Red Ranger, and the other can be Green. Tommy is just as good as Jason,” Alice suggested.

“I’m tired of playing with you girls, you only drag us down.” Emmett turned but continued walking backward. “Edward, are you coming, or are you playing sissy games like one of the girls?”

Emmett didn’t wait for an answer and hopped his own dirt bike leaving a cloud of dust. Edward gave me a half a glance before starting to follow.

“Wait, Edward, I need to tell you something?” I suddenly remembered why I came to the playground in the first place.

“Why couldn’t you side with me and say I should be the Red Ranger?”

He frowned and scuffed his foot.

“You’re blaming me?” I asked incredulously.

“No. I just. . .maybe Em’s right. I already get picked on for being a nerd. Maybe we should play separately more often.” Edward’s ears turned pink.

“But Edward. . . ” I felt hurt by his words. Out of all of them, I had been the closest to Edward.

“I’ll see you later.” He ran towards his bike.

“But I gotta tell you something. It’s important,” I called after him.

“Later! I promise.” He was already peddling away.

Biting my lip and trying not to cry, I looked around. The playground was empty. At some point, Alice must have left. Dejectedly, I sat down on the swing and pushed off the ground. I stared at the sand as it blurred under my feet as I moved. I should be walking home, but I was too tired at the moment.

I wasn’t sure how long I sat there when my dad’s car pulled up. He got out and headed towards me.

“Bells, we’ve been looking for you. Where is everyone; you know you’re not supposed to be here by yourself,” he reprimanded lightly.

“Sorry,” I mumbled.

He sighed and was quiet for a moment. “We have to go; we can’t miss the plane. Come on, your mom is waiting in the car.” He stopped the swing, so I could get off.

“I don’t wanna go.” Tears ran down my face.

“I’m afraid you don’t get a choice, kiddo,” he said softly.

I glanced around the playground one more time before taking his hand. We climbed into the car and drove off, leaving Forks behind.

Awww, how sad Bella had to leave all her friends behind, especially Edward! But she’ll see them again although she’ll have a hard time recognizin’ ’em!

{And, once I saw a pic of this little cutie pie, I couldn’t resist makin’ a banner for it myself LOL!}

Bella is the new girl in Forks. Edward is the loner with the tragic past. Will they find happiness with each other, or will something bigger tear them apart? Will Bella get the happy ending she’s dreaming of?

I sat at my lab table and found myself sitting next to the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. His untidy bronze hair was striking against his porcelain skin and emerald green eyes. Even though he was sitting, I could tell he was tall and lean but well built. I tried not to drool, and I hoped he couldn’t hear me gasp at his beauty. He was just perfect. I was completely rendered speechless. How did I get so lucky to have this Greek god as a lab partner?

“Hi,” I said shyly once I found my voice, not sure how to approach this Adonis but not wanting to seem unfriendly.

He responded by giving me a cold stare and turning away from me.

I looked around to see if there was possibly something around me that could have affected him that way. Nope. Just me. I tried again.

“Hi, I’m Bella.”

“I know who you are,” he snapped.

I just sat there with my mouth open and wondered how he could be so rude. As Mr. Banner began lecturing, I noticed my partner scooting his stool further away from me. I could feel the blush creeping into my cheeks and tried not to cry. Tears were my usual response to anger, and I really didn’t want this idiot to see my cry. I was livid. I hadn’t done anything but say hello to this guy, yet he couldn’t stand me for some reason. He was stiff and rigid throughout the whole lecture, and when the bell rang he practically ran out of the room. I just stood there in shock.

The final bell rang at 2:30, and I hightailed it out of the school as fast as I could. I didn’t want to run into Alice or anyone else I had met today. I just wanted this day to be over. Unfortunately, I wasn’t meeting Charlie at the diner until 5:00. I went home for a bit to do some homework, but I couldn’t get my mind off of Edward Masen. I had no idea why he had gotten under my skin so badly.

“So how was your day?” Charlie asked after we had ordered.

“Pretty good,” I lied. “My classes seem easy, and I met a few people.”

Charlie nodded. “Did you see Alice?”

“Yeah. I met her this morning. We have a couple of classes together, and I sat with her at lunch. I met Emmett and some of their friends.”

I paused for a moment. “I also met Edward.”

“Nice kids, all of them,” Charlie said.

“I don’t know,” I contradicted. “Edward wasn’t very friendly.”

“He really is a good kid,” Charlie insisted. “He’s just been through a lot, losing his parents and all. You’ll like him once you get to know him.”

I doubted that, but I didn’t feel like arguing with my father.

Charlie continued. “Esme Cullen called today. She invited us to dinner tomorrow. You can hang out with Alice outside of school and perhaps see that Edward isn’t so bad.”

Great. My own father was taking up for Edward Masen. I could deal with Alice and her endless supply of energy, but her cousin was another story. Edward annoyed me, yet for some strange reason I couldn’t get him out of my mind. He had been rude to me, though.

I was nothing but nice, yet he chose to treat me terribly and ignore me. We’d have to work together as lab partners, but that didn’t mean we’d have to be friends. I finally decided to make my life easy and just dislike him. I only hoped I could stick to that decision.

Lucky for Edward, he and Bella find a way to be friends…maybe even more, just when he needs her the most!

Brigit says: “In case you were wondering how I chose the title of the story, it’s from the Goo Goo Dolls song “Iris.” I felt the lyrics were appropriate for Bella and Edward here.”

Edward Masen tugged at the collar of his dress blues. Trembling fingers fidgeted and fussed, pulling the hem of his sleeve down over the stark white glove, adjusting the smooth white belt. It seemed to take forever to get it just so. Ever the U.S. Marine, Masen stood tall and adjusted his cover.

This was his first “mission” since he’d set foot on American soil, and while his presence had only been summoned in hopes that people would open their hearts and their pocketbooks, ensuring that children who were less fortunate had gifts to open on Christmas morning, held as much importance as any objective on the battlefield.

It had been so long since he’d donned the uniform that signified his service to country. Hell, it had been a long time since he’d worn any sort of formal dress and the retired Staff Sergeant felt woefully out of his element.

Retired.

He scoffed when glanced at the reflection in the mirror. That was what they’d called it when they shipped him home in a wheelchair, the other members of his unit in caskets.

Permanent Disability—Retired.

It mattered not that he could take down a target at five-hundred yards, nor that he had been fully rehabilitated and was more physically fit than he’d been during his years of active service. Once the Physical Evaluation Board made their decision, a service man’s fate was cast in stone. The VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities didn’t make any exceptions in the absence of one’s foot or any part thereof. Make it nearly an entire leg, you were pretty much fucked.

Oh, and did you know it’s not only our vets who can suffer PTSD?

Standing at attention, just to the left of Santa’s Candy Cane Cottage, was a U. S. Marine; his back ramrod straight, his dress blues immaculate. Her eyes took in the broad shoulders and narrow waist, the hint of dark hair at the edge of his cover, and if she allowed herself to believe in miracles, it could have been her beloved husband, returned from the dead.

Bella drew in a steadying breath and dared another peek, just as her apparition squatted and reached for the small knapsack a dark haired toddler held up with a smile.

The scene had haunted her a million times in her sleep—the child, begging for food, holding out his small knapsack for her husband to fill with an apple or sandwich; imagined Emmett’s easy smile as he offered the tot whatever he had. It was the Devil himself who strapped a bomb on the poor baby used as the instrument of her husband’s death and she was certain history was about to repeat itself.

Without hesitation she sprung into action. Shoving the children under a table set up as a gift wrapping station, she began screaming and crying, “Everyone get away. It’s a bomb!”

It might take our Marineward time and patience to break through her tough shell but he does and it’s amazin’ to see!

Grief affects everyone differently. Some flounder. Some ignore it all together. Some Just move on and go through the motions. But some remain stagnant, trapped in their grief, allowing it to consume them completely. Epov. Olderward. AH

Edward Cullen, honorably discharged Marine, has a new neighbor. Little does he know how much she’s about to change his life…for the better!

Sometime in the night, I was jolted awake, my pillow wet from tears. Memories of loud noises, people yelling and screaming, a gun being loaded and fired infiltrated my dreams.

I didn’t fall asleep again. My eyes wouldn’t shut, no matter how hard I tried. My mind was too occupied. Instead, I got up and forced myself to start the day.

Leaving my house that morning, I was met with basket and a hot thermos of coffee with a card attached, waiting for me on my front porch. I looked around, trying to find who left it, but I was the only one out.

I opened the card, and found blue paper with purple ink staring back at me.

Sir-

I hope you don’t mind this, but they say that some warm tea can do wonders for a tired soul. Chocolate, even better.

I think you could use some. Please enjoy this tea, the chocolate muffins and some fruit. I hope they bring you a smile.

I heard you last night. Your tears tore at my heart, your screams and yelling made me want to run to you. But since we don’t know each other, maybe this will help you to at least get through your day.

My door is always open.

Bella.

I stared down at her note, not at all sure what to think. It was the first time in a very long time that someone did something for me. I felt embarrassed that she had heard me; I hadn’t even realized I still screamed in my sleep.

I tore a bit of paper off her note, and replied back, leaving it on her door.

Bella-

Thank you.

Edward.

Edward and Bella have both been havin’ a rough time dealin’ with their losses but, together, they’re beatin’ back the darkness! Watchin’ ’em do it is very upliftin’!

Bella and Edward grew up together. They’ve shared a lot of firsts, but never the ones of the intimate sort, both always fearing it would ruin the relationship they had. Now as highly-sought-after, successful adults, neither can take it anymore. One phone call gives them the opening they need, but it’ll be easier than they think. Tattella/Tattward; M for Language & Adult Activities

Edward {not a Marineward *poutyface*} agrees to a photoshoot to promote his custom paint and body shop…with unforeseen consequences!

“Take care. Bye!” Mary ends the call, clasps her hands in front of her on the desk, and then looks at me. Her poker face is fucking perfect. Bitch.

“Well? Are you gonna tell me or am I gonna have to threaten your Milton-like stapler?” I say with frustration as I reach over and pick up her red stapler, holding it up by my face.

She laughs, “If we weren’t friends, you’d be in trouble for that little outburst. But, yes, I’ll tell you, so relax, stapler hater. He sounded a little surprised, so I said what I needed to, but it wasn’t needed. He said it wasn’t a problem, but actually great.” I smile and nod, satisfied with that answer.

“Now,” she makes a shooing motion, “go away. I have a few other calls to make for Irina, and I may have to do some begging. Alistair really fucked things up the last time we had to work with these clients.”

I chuckle as I stand and turn to leave, smirk on my face. In six days, the highly-sought-after, custom auto body detailing man will be mine, and this issue will officially confirm it to the world. Finally, Operation: Edward’s Mine is a go.

I guess it wouldn’t be so much fun watchin’ ’em figure it out if Bella already knew Edward was on the same page!

I’ve been in love with Bella for what feels like our entire lives. She’s everything I want and need, and as a tattooed and pierced pole fitness instructor and model, she fits perfectly in my world.

It’s only one o’clock, but I have this paint job to start. Thankfully, I have a couple of extra days for this one, so I can stretch my process a little. I gather my thoughts while I look over the car’s plans, trying to ignore the more erotic ones of Bella and I having naked fun on every surface imaginable.

I would prefer the latter, and it’s so hard to push away.

Ha!

I groan again and shake my head at myself. I’m incorrigible.

“All right,” I sigh to myself, and then try hard to focus on my work.

After a few minutes, I’m walking back to my spray gun, determined to finish the day’s schedule before planning Operation Make Bella Mine.

Edward Cullen has abstained from human blood for over a century. Present-day Chicago, he uses his gift of telepathy to solve crimes, during an investigation he hears a madman planning to murder an innocent young woman. While intervening on her behalf, Edward loses his superior control, becoming fixated on the song of her sweet blood crying out to him. Will he answer?

Bonus Vampward to make up for missin’ the last two Fridays!

The young woman attempted to hail a taxi without success. I cursed to myself when I saw she was setting out to walk, playing straight into the abhorrent hands of the killer. His confidence sickened me, he was sure she would be worth the trouble she’d cause him. My reaction to his detestable imaginings was . . . not on my watch!

Catching offenders after they have already committed a crime is an accomplishment, but it’s even more rewarding when I stop them from repeating it. If I have any say in the matter, this sicko’s games are about to end. I will not allow this crime to happen. This innocent woman’s life will not end at the hand of this murderer.

I will intervene on her behalf.

I wrapped myself around her and leaped to a nearby rooftop to a position where I could evaluate my surroundings. Landing in an abandoned alley, I held her back against my chest, unwilling for her to see the horror of what was about to take place. She smelled so unbelievably good I wanted to devour her, but her unexpected warmth seeped through to me, momentarily usurping thirst with intense physical desire. While my hand was over her mouth to keep her from screaming, she twisted and turned trying to loosen my hold, which only incensed me further. With my arm wedged between her breasts, it made me even more conscious of her soft curves.

What I wouldn’t give to see this beauty without clothes!

I am shocked by my own lasciviousness, not normally prone to such thoughts. In retrospect, I was foolish not to acknowledge this woman was awakening long-buried human emotions in me. . . emotions so foreign that I am thrown off guard.

The THIRD in the Angel series. We pick up where we last left off. Edward and Bella starting new in England…new friends, old friends…and lots of love, angst, and music. AU/slightly-OOC…and as always, lemons. Sequel to Broken Angel & Angel’s Embrace.

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